Weeks passed and the ___30_____over the coming Christmas grew into restlessness until the last day of ___31___before the holiday break. I smiled in ___32____as the last of them hurried out the door. Turning around I saw David ____33___standing by my desk. 
“I have something for you,” he said and ___34___ from behind his back a small box.  ____35___it to me, he said anxiously. “Open it.” I took the box from him, thanked him and slowly unwrapped it. I lift the lid and to my ___36___saw nothing. I looked at David’s smiling face and back into the box and said, “The box is nice, David, but it’s ___37____”.
“Oh no, it isn’t,” said David. “It’s full of love, my mum told me before she died that love was something you couldn’t see or touch unless you know it’s there.”
Tears filled my eyes ___38___I looked at the proud dirty face that I had rarely given ____39___to. After that Christmas, David and I became good friends and I never forgot the meaning ____40___the little empty box set on my desk..     

Last weekends, my kids along with few other kids from the neighborhood volunteered to help me wash my car. My 10-year-old daughter came up with the idea of   31  other people’s cars as well. It was pretty   32  outside and I had no plans to   33  to be in the bright sun. She   34  wanted to give lemonade（檸檬汽水）to passersby for free. I had seen little kids  35  and sell fresh lemonade for a small cost but not free. Although I felt   36  , I decided to help her.  37 she asked me, “What if we   38  this a smile car wash?” I couldn’t hold back my tears and   39  her and the other kids to go outside the house and come up with   40  ideas. While I kept myself busy in drying the car, the gang walked up to me with a(n)   41  with beautiful images of smiles. They had “Free Car Wash” written on it and the   42 of their exercise was “smile”. It was pretty neat to see a team of kids ranging 5－11 years with the   43  to do something for others.
All that seemed   44  and came right from their heart. Nothing seemed to   45  to them: their playtime, the heat outside—they just wanted to   46  others and do something nice in the community!
I helped them make some fresh lemonade and brought out some additional   47  to help clean cars. The passersby were   48  and one even shouted back to them saying “God Bless You, my kids…” One of them even tried giving them 5 dollars, which they refused. A pretty heartwarming   49 ! I feel blessed by being   50  by such wonderful and loving souls.

A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting （誘人的）apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit-eater,  1 a bar of chocolate if given the choice, but, as they say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the     2   he felt and the more he wanted that apple.
3    as high as he could, but even at his tallest  4  , he was unable to touch it. He began to  5 up and down , as high as he could, at the  6  of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple . Still it remained out of 7 .   Not giving up , he thought , if only he had something to  8 on . His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to  9  the things inside , like his lunch box , pencil case , and Game boy. Looking around, he hoped he might find an old box , a rock , or , with luck , even a ladder , but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use. He had tried everything he could think to do. Without seeing any other choices , he gave up and started to walk   10  . At first he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his  11  , and how he really wanted that apple .The more he  12 like this , the more unhappy he became.
However ,the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what he wanted .He started to say to himself . This isn’t    13 ,I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s 14   more I can do to get the apple-that is unchangeable-but we are supposed to be able to  15  our feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?

A boy, about 10 years old, got to my clinic with his sick cat for cure. Thc cat was a tiny beautiful thing, about the boy's own  36  . I could see she was  37   very strong and lovely with the fur of a 38   and Tigress was her name. She  39  me with a friendly nub against my hand.
I  40   her and found a tumor(腫瘤). She had no 41  of recovery. I looked at the fresh-faced boy and back at Tigress. I began to 42  pity on the boy. At such a young age, he had to face to part with his beloved one.
I told him as 43 as I could what I had found, and what it meant. The boy's face twisted (扭曲) and turned away. I sat down and 44  Tigress to give the boy some time to recover. I felt Tigress's old beautiful fur 45  we discussed the possible choice with him: I could give her an operation, which would be very  46   and would not make her live longer than a month, or an  injection and put her to sleep.
After some time, the boy accepted the reality.  "I've seen her 47 recently, so I'd like her to die peacefully." I could see  how  48   it was costing him in making such a 49  .
I asked if he wanted to take her home overnight to say goodbye. He said he just wanted to be 50  with her for a few minutes. I went to get the 51 which I would use to put her to sleep. I could not control the  52  streaming down my face.
She fell asleep, her head  53   in his hand, lovely and quiet, but her owner now had all the 54 . "This is the finest  55   you could give. You bear the pain so that the loved one might rest." The boy nodded and he understood.

A Love Note to My Mom
When I was a little girl，I would often accompany you as you modeled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling__21__  in your life. Little did I know you were_22__  every penny you earned to go to__23__ school.
I cannot thank you enough for__24__ you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried__25__ piles of law books. I was  __26__.Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for__27__？ When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn’ t know Moms__28__be lawyers too. You smiled and said，“In life, you can do anything you want to do.”
As young as I was，that statement kept___29__ in my ears. I watched as you faced the___30_of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a_31__ and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted  just watching you__32__.With your words of wisdom in my__33__mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world__34__.I set out to live my life filled with__35__，seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.
Your words became my motto. I__36__found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary) __37__one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, “Yes, I’ ll try that.”
Encouraged by your__38___， I have forged ahead (毅然前行) with my life’ s journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and__39__meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I’ m__40__ it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

One of the most common social fears is that we are not good enough. Perhaps you feel you won’t   21  others because they are more confident, successful, intelligent or attractive than you. Such thinking is misguided. The   22  of doing well is accepting yourself as you are.
When I was a student, I kept a diary filled with   23  memories. Some were painful memories from   24  when I felt hurt, confused, lonely and insecure. I   25  pieces of dreams and personal feelings of anger and hatred,   26  things I enjoyed such as magic shops and coin dealers.
Then a terrible thing happened.   27  dinner one night I realized I had left my diary in the cloakroom（衣帽間）outside the campus dining hall.   28  that somebody might read it and find out the truth about me, I   29  back, but it was gone.
Weeks passed, and eventually I gave up hope of ever finding it   30 . A month later, I was 31  up my jacket in the same place when I saw my brown   32  diary, just where I’d left it.
  33  I read through the pages and found that a   34  had written the following, “God bless you. I’m   35  like you, only I   36  keep a diary, and I’m   37  to know there are others like me. I hope things turn out well for you.”
Tears came to my eyes. It had never dawned（開始為人所明白）on me that any one could know my inner feelings and also   38  things just like the way I did.
No matter what you are like, whether you’re rich or poor, brilliant or average, attractive or 39 , there are people like you. Discard（拋棄）your fears of not measuring up（符合期望）, and 40  yourself as you are.

【小題8】

A．Excited B．Puzzled C．Surprised D．Frightened

【小題12】

A．new B．worn C．broken D．similar

【小題19】

A．strong B．pretty C．clear D．plain

Some years ago I was offered a writing assignment that would require three months of travel through Europe. I had been __36__ a couple of times, but I could hardly __37__ to know my ways around the continent. __38__, my knowledge of foreign languages was __39__ to a little college French.
I __40__. How would I, unable to speak the language, __41__ familiar with local geography or transportation systems, conduct interviews and do __42__? It seemed impossible, and with considerable __43__ I sat down to write a letter rejecting the __44__. Halfway through, a __45__ ran through my mind: you can’t learn if you don’t try. So I __46__ the assignment.
There were some bad __47__. But by the time I had finished the trip, I was an experienced traveler. And ever since, I have never hesitated to head for even the most __48__ places, without guides or __49__ advanced bookings, confident that somehow I will __50__.
The point is that the new, the different, is almost by definition __51__. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning _52_, the world opens to you.
I’ve learned to ski at 40, and flown up the Rhine River in a (n) __53__. And I know I’ll go on doing such things. It’s not because I’m braver or more daring than others. I’m not. But I’ll accept worry as another name for _54_and I believe I can 55_ wonders.

Why did I come today? I wondered. My Christmas (36) _______ contained several people that claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt (37) _______ I didn’t buy them anything, so buying gifts was (38) _______ but fun.
Hurriedly, I finished shopping and (39) _______ the long checkout lines. In front of me were a boy of about 5 and a younger girl. She carried a beautiful pair of (40) _______ slippers. When we finally (41) _______ the checkout register, the girl (42) _______ placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a (43) _______.
“That will be $6.09,” the cashier said. The boy (44) _______ all his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. “I guess we will have to put them back,” he said (45) _______, “We will come back some other time, maybe tomorrow.” With that statement, a soft (46) _______ broke from the little girl. “But Jesus would have loved these shoes,” she cried.
“Well, we’ll go home and work some more. Don’t cry. We’ll surely (47) _______,” he said. Quickly I handed $3 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, (48) _______, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and the girl said (49) _______, “Thank you, lady.”“What did you (50) _______ when you said Jesus would like the shoes?” I asked. The boy answered, “Our mommy is sick and going to (51) _______. Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus.” The girl spoke, “My Sunday school teacher said the streets in heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes. Won’t mommy be (52) _______ walking on those streets in these shoes?”
My eyes (53) _______ as I looked into her tear-streaked face. “Yes,” I answered, “I am (54) _______ she will.” Silently I thanked God for using these children to (55) _______ me of the true spirit of giving.

When I was a teenager I volunteered to work at the water station at a 10,000m race. My job was to   36  water to the runners. I remember being so   37  to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! So the next year I   38  up for the race.
That first 10,000m race was quite an  39 . I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked.   40  , I didn’t know if I could finish. Then came a defining (決定性)   41  .
At one point near the end, a 70-year-old man ran past me, very, very fast, and I felt   42 because I was 50 years younger than he but I couldn’t even keep up with him. I felt   43  for a second.
But then I   44  something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had   45  abilities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my   46 was only to finish.
After a minute, it   47  me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into   48 .
I  49  that I would not give up on running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare   50  and one day I would be one of those 70-year-old persons who were still running. As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my   51 .
In life we all have those moments where we   52  ourselves to others. It’s only   53 . Don’t allow those moments to   54  you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. With the proper preparation and training, you can improve your result to   55   anything you want in life.

We may look at the world around us, but somehow we manage not to see it until whatever we’ve become used to suddenly disappears.  36 , for example, the neatly-dressed woman I  37  to see—or look at—on my way to work each morning.
For three years, no matter  38  the weather was like, she was always waiting at the bus stop around 8:00 am. On  39  days, she wore heavy clothes and a pair of woolen gloves. Summertime  40  out neat, belted cotton dresses and a hat pulled low over her sunglasses. 41 , she was an ordinary working woman. Of course, I  42  all this only after she was seen no more. It was then that I realized how  43  I expected to see her each morning. You might say I  44 her.
“Did she have an accident? Something  45 ?” I thought to myself about her  46 . Now that she was gone, I felt I had  47  her. I began to realize that part of our  48  life probably includes such chance meetings with familiar  49 : the milkman you see at dawn, the woman who 50  walks her dog along the street every morning, the twin brothers you see at the library. Such people are  51  markers in our lives. They add weight to our  52  of place and belonging.
Think about it.  53 , while walking to work, we mark where we are by  54  a certain building, why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar, though  55 , person?